CUT YOUR FOOD WASTE

In Scotland we throw out about 1/5th of the food we buy in our homes.*1 The average family of four can save just over £60 per month by reducing their food waste*2.

Eat the food you buy!

Cut down on food waste by making sure you only buy what you need and eat the food you have. You’ll minimise your home’s carbon pollution, save money and maybe learn a few new recipes at the same time.

When you throw food away, you waste more than a meal. You’re also wasting the energy that was used in growing, producing, packaging and transporting it. Cutting down on food waste helps keep your carbon pollution to a minimum. And less organic waste rotting on landfill sites also means less methane - another greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Don’t underestimate the scale of it - if food waste was a country, it would be the third highest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US and China.

Cutting your food waste has other benefits. Throwing less food away means you’re not throwing your money away on food you don’t eat. Using what’s already in your cupboard is a good way to get creative and learn new recipes that can be enjoyed by you and everyone you live with.

Only buy what you need

Plan your meals and write a shopping list to avoid buying things unnecessarily. If you just need a wee bit of something that you don’t cook with regularly, pop along to your local refill shop (ahem, Lil is at 10 High Street Haddington or shop here (www.dolilthings.org). Just buy the amount the recipe states.

Check your portion sizes

If you’re serving massive portions, you’ll either be over-eating or putting it in the food waste bin at the end of the meal.

Make smaller portions and eat pudding/dessert if you’re still hungry– bonus. (Pudding doesn’t HAVE to mean cake, although it can! Dessert can also be fruit, dried fruit, oat bar or a bit of bread and butter) Portion wise, 75g is the recommended amount for dried pasta/rice/cereals. See more about portion planning and food waste at Love Food Hate Waste.

Store food properly

The longer it stays fresh the more likely you are to eat it. Learn about how best to store different foods: sealed or open, in glass, metal or plastic, in the fridge or at room temperature. Utilize your freezer and dried goods.

Keep potatoes in a dark place. Is that bread best kept fresh or can it be frozen? Ripen fruit by the bananas, but then keep them apart. Tomatoes live well at room temp.

Use what you have

Check your cupboards before you buy and search for recipes that use ingredients you already have. Don’t throw away leftovers as they are an easy meal or snack for the next day – tonight’s baked potato leftovers have gone into tomorrow night’s leek and potato soup.

Know that Best Before is a guide, Use By is a legal sale term. Check what can and can’t be frozen. Physically check food if you’re unsure.

If you know you’re not going to eat something, find a way to freeze, pickle or ferment it before it goes bad. Freeze bread if you can and it can become bread and butter pudding, breadcrumbs, toast. If you’re making a packed lunch, some sandwiches work well made from frozen bread in the morning/night before. (Avoid lettuce if you’re doing this, it gets a big soggy.)

Get imaginative with the waste bits!

Scrubbed potato peelings make great crisps. You can grow new veg from the roots or tops of old veg – celery, carrots, lettuce and many more. You can eat the stalks of broccoli as well as the tops – just peel the skin and chop into similar sized pieces. There are many ideas like this online and on social media – have fun and search some out.

Get Appy

Have you downloaded the Olio App? It’s a fab tool for sharing surplus food (and other goods) and available for IOS & Android. Local volunteers pick up from supermarkets, or you can share from your garden or kitchen too. You can even pass on open packets of things!

If you do have food waste, make sure you compost it appropriately or use the food waste bin provided by your local authority.

References

*1 https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/climate-change/climate-challenge-fund/carbon-literacy-guide/ 

*2 https://lovefoodhatewaste.com/why-save-food